Linda Kapetanea and Jozef Fruček return with a poetic duet on life, loss, and memory

Linda Kapetanea and Jozef Fruček in a duet blending dance and spoken word, exploring the cycle of life, farewell, and the workings of memory

The acclaimed duo RootlessRoot—Linda Kapetanea and Jozef Fruček—invite audiences into their newly established artistic home with their latest creation, Mountain. Two years after their last performance (Silence, Athens Epidaurus Festival 2023), they return with an evocative duet that blends movement and spoken word, delving into the cycle of life, the inevitability of farewell, and the delicate function of memory. Mountain will be presented for four nights only, from June 19 to 22.

The Work

As life begins with breath and ends with breath, Mountain begins with a poem about breathing. On an empty stage, the two performers are “born,” wrestling with the elements of the world, striving to create. What they ultimately create is life itself—its meaning, its fragility—in a process that is destined to end and begin again. Life and death pass through each other in a perpetual cycle of creation, destruction, and rebirth.

Burn it all
Let it burn
Until nothing
Nothing at all
is left to clean
Nothing

In this eternal rhythm, grief, parting, and memory are revealed not as interruptions, but as necessary rites—conditions for life to continue. How do we face death? What do we remember, and what do we choose to forget? How do we inhabit mortality? In a world that has abandoned the rituals of death, sidelined aging, and rejected pain and disappointment, Mountain offers a deeply embodied reflection: preparing for the end is a spiritual and physical trial—a journey as vital as life itself. The performance gives space to grief and goodbye, as necessary steps toward transformation.

RootlessRoot write: “Montaigne said that to philosophize is to learn how to die. But what does it mean to prepare for the end? It means to always be ready for departure— Light. Clear. Carrying no baggage.”

The New Home of RootlessRoot

After years of seeking a permanent base, RootlessRoot and their global practice Fighting Monkey—a movement methodology for human development—have finally found new ground in Neo Heraklion, Athens. This space marks a milestone in their two-decade journey. It’s not just a studio; it’s a gesture of gratitude to the world of dance and a platform for creative exchange.

Since January 2025, this new home has served as a foundation for exploration—a laboratory where creation is freed from the need for explanation.

As Linda Kapetanea puts it: “We imagine a space where people from different backgrounds—artists, athletes, scientists, craftsmen—can meet. A place for friction. To shake each other out of the illusion of knowledge. To ask questions that don’t demand immediate answers. Sometimes, the value lies in the encounter itself. This is not a space just for us—but for anyone who values discovery and play. A place for questions that don’t quite fit in academic or formal structures, Where unexpected collaborations might emerge.”

Credits
Concept – Choreography – Performance: Linda Kapetanea, Jozef Fruček
Texts: Jozef Fruček
Text editing and development: Ioanna Nassiopoulou
Music composition: Vasilis Mantzoukas
Lighting design: Periklis Mathiellis
Sound design – Sound engineering: Christos Parapagidis
Set design and construction: Jozef Fruček
Costume design: Eirini Georgakila
Costume production: Atelier Tsouni
Mask design: Iliana Skoulaki
Production Management: Polyplanity Productions – Vicky Strataki & Nikos Charalambidis
Photography: Elina Giounanli
Production: ROOTLESSROOT